How to do Art

If Art is self expression, then on what basis are grades formed, and how is the final product evaluated? Many students fail art classes for not being adequate or reaching a certain standard, and with that being said,If students were to actually fail for that reasoning, then the art class itself would be a contradiction.

Self expression cannot have a standard, and to impose one would be encouraging a binary thinking system that leaves no room for unique and individual style, creativeness, and thought. Many people would agree with what has been just said, infant, this debate is one that has been argued numerous times, what hasn’t been debated as frequently however, would is art in its various other forms. What has been discussed so far is what is commonly referred to as ‘Visual Art’, and it includes painting, sketching, sculpting etc. other types of Art such as dance or film, both of which have award ceremonies and have even more criteria for achieving the so-called ‘professional’ status. We often hear people say that certain people “Can’t dance”, and they don’t mean that the people in question are unable to express themselves, it is at the the absurd notion that there is a way to express yourself properly that people must adhere to, certain criteria that must be met.

On shows such as ‘So You Think You Can Dance’, a televised dancing competition, that brings contestants who ‘think they can dance’ in order to be judged by ‘professionals’. Some would say that the winners are seen as better because of the range and diversity of the styles and techniques used, however, what if one artist prefers a single technique because s/he believes that they are better able to express themselves using it rather than multiple techniques that don’t do the job as well for them, should judges still chose another artist instead of that one?